An applications platform can be constructed from a number of computing environments in which at least one computing environment is different from the others. Such an applications platform is also referred to as a “heterogeneous” platform. One such example is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,619 issued May 15, 2001 to Narisi et al., entitled “Virtual Transport Layer Interface and Messaging Subsystem for High-Speed Communications Between Heterogeneous Computer Systems” and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. In this patent, the heterogeneous application platform is illustrated by a Unisys ClearPath HMP® enterprise server coupled with a Microsoft Windows NT® server for network services. (Also, see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/418,083, filed Oct. 14, 1999, assigned to the same assignee as the present application, and entitled “A Distributed Transport Communications Manager with Messaging Subsystem for High-Speed Communications between Heterogeneous Computer Systems.”)
Networking of applications typically involves the use of a network protocol suite such as the popular Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) stack. In the above-mentioned patent, a local application (running in the enterprise environment) can use either a TCP/IP stack in the enterprise environment or a TCP/IP stack in the NT environment to communicate with a remote application.